Five fishing hot spots for October

Will Major Brister, 9, caught his largest bass to date, this 8 1/2-pounder, while visiting his grandparents, Buddy and Gwendy Clairain, in Ebenezer. He was fishing with his grandfather in a private pond, using his new baitcasting outfit to present a watermelon/red Fluke.

1. Bull reds, Mississippi Sound: The bigger redfish don’t usually get to the bridges, taking up residence instead along the barrier islands and the edge of the Biloxi Marsh. Huge schools can change the color of the water when they are moving in search of food. It’s a blast, whether you use big gear and go for numbers or go light and enjoy the line-stretching battles.

2. White bass at oxbow lakes: Chotard and Albermarle lakes top the list of white bass oxbows, with Whittington and Eagle Lake right behind. Big schools of white bass can be found chasing shad that migrate up to the shallow water, especially if they find a sandy bottom — like a sandbar point — where they can herd a school of shad. It can be crazy, and there is no limit.

3. Crappie, Grenada, Sardis and Enid Lakes: As tough as the summer has been on trolling on the these three North Mississippi flood-control impoundments, local fishermen say none of that will matter when the water starts cooling. Trolling remains the top technique, and as the fall drawdowns begin, the crappie will move to the edge of creek channels near their intersections with river channels and will form huge schools.

4. Bass, Barnett Reservoir: Biologists say the reservoir had another great shad spawn this spring, so bass action can be expected to be hot again. Fishing intensifies in the pads, where the shad seek cover. There may be a hundred different ways to catch these bass in the pads, but none are more fun — or as productive — as running a soft-plastic frog across the top of the vegetation.

5. Catfish, Tenn-Tom Waterway: October is a prime catfish month on most Mississippi waters, but few can match the production of the Tenn-Tom. All of the pools offer excellent fishing, but this is a prime time to hit the upper end between the headwaters at Pickwick Lake and Bay Springs Lake.

About Bobby Cleveland 1340 Articles
Bobby Cleveland has covered sports in Mississippi for over 40 years. A native of Hattiesburg and graduate of the University of Southern Mississippi, Cleveland lives on Ross Barnett Reservoir near Jackson with his wife Pam.

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